1995:

Two Centuries of Collecting at the Museum of American ArtDecember 10, 1994 - April 16, 1995[Permanent collection installed in chronological order from Gallery 1, and continuing except during the run of the Annual Student Exhibitions in May. Galleries 10-13 were usually reserved for special exhibitions.]

1994:

**The Broad and Cherry building of the Pennsylvania Academy closed for renovations from May 30 to December 10, 1994. When the galleries reopened, numbers, instead of letters, were assigned to each, beginning with Gallery 1 containing West's Christ Rejected.

1987:

Framing the Constitution: The Artist's RecordFebruary 27 - December 13, 1987; Ticket [Works of art from the Pennsylvania Academy and other collections celebrating the bicentennial of the signing of the U.S. Constitution]

PAFA closed its building from May 1974 to April 1976 for a major restoration. Part of the collection traveled to various cities, and the remainder went into storage. During the closure, several exhibitions, organized by the Academy, or brought in from outside, were mounted at various venues, including the School Gallery (see Peale House list).

1970:

Two Hundred Years of American Art1970; Checklist [traveled to several southern U.S. venues; did not appear at the Pennsylvania Academy]

To Save a Heritage: Lithographs by Childe Hassam, and One Hundred Graphic Art Masterpieces from the CollectionNovember 19 - December 20, 1970; Checklist and a souvenir portfolio of print and manuscript facsimiles

Prints by Durer and the German "Little Masters" from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine ArtsNovember - December, 1939 [134th Annual Report, p. 2]

Thirty-Five Engravings by Hogarth, Master Satirist, from the John F. Lewis Collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts [did not appear at the Pennsylvania Academy; traveled under the Federal Art Project of the W.P.A.]1938; Catalogue

Exhibition of American Portraits from the Collection of John F. LewisApril 15 - May 6, 1934; Catalogue

Master Prints from the John F. Lewis Collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts [did not appear at the Pennsylvania Academy; traveled under the Federal Art Project of the W.P.A.]1934; Catalogue

1891:

1890:

1880s:

Third Annual Joint Exhibition of Photographs [co-sponsored by The Society of Amateur Photographers of New York, The Photographic Society of Philadelphia, and The Boston Camera Club]April 8-20, 1889; Catalogue

Exhibition of Works by Vassili VerestchaginApril - May, 1889; Catalogue, First Appendix "Progress in Art," and Second Appendix "Realism"

Christian Martyrs in the Coliseum [sic] by Frederick Rothermel1877; Broadside [part of the 48th Annual Exhibition]

Spring Exhibition of Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts1877; Ticket

Water Color Drawings Loaned to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine ArtsDecember 3, 1877 - January 12, 1878; Catalogue

Collection of James Wharton HarrelSummer 1876; Catalogue

Annual Spring Exhibition of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts1876; Ticket

Property and Loan Exhibition of Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine ArtsFall? [exact time of year unknown] 1876; Catalogue

Engravings, Etchings, and Mezzotints Held Under the Auspices and for the Benefit of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in the Building Adjoining Their New Structure [James L. Claghorn Collection]December 21, 1874 - April 1875; Catalogue

1839 - 1805:

Celebrated Gallery of Paintings from England. Catalogue of Paintings by the Great Masters [Seventh Exhibition of the Atheneum [sic] Gallery, Boston]Fall 1833; Catalogue

Exhibition of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts1838; Catalogue

Benjamin West's Death on The Pale Horse1838; Broadside

Washington Allston's The Dead Man Restored to Life by Touching the Bones of the Prophet ElishaApril 1816; Broadside

Exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts of Mr. Allston's Picture of The Dead Man Restored to Life By Touching the Bones of the Prophet Elisha, Together with Many Valuable Paintings in Addition to the Stationary Pictures of the AcademyMay 1816; Catalogue

Exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts of Mr. C. R. Leslie's Picture The Murder of Rutland and also of Mr. Allston's Celebrated Pictures, The Dead Man Restored to Life By Touching the Bones of the Prophet Elisha and Donna Mencia… Together with Many Valuable Paintings in Addition to the Stationary Paintings of the AcademyOctober 1816

Statue of Washington by William Rush1815; Broadside and Poster

Statues, Busts, etc. in the Collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts1807; Catalogue [This display, of plaster casts newly acquired for PAFA's collection, was the first exhibition at the institution.]

Robert Fulton CollectionNovember 1807; [Works by Benjamin West and others were lent by Fulton for about two years beginning in November 1807. No printed documentation was issued. This exhibition was the first display of works not owned by PAFA.]

Brief Summary of PAFA Exhibitions:

For over 200 years, PAFA has been mounting both permanent collection and special exhibitions. (“Special Exhibitions” constitute a separate series from the two Annual Exhibition series, or the Peale House and Morris Gallery series. Lists of the latter exhibitions are available from the PAFA Archives.)

Following this introduction is an extensive list of archived exhibitions. The titles on this exhibitions list are derived from surviving catalogs, checklists, invitations, and annual reports. When a catalog or checklist was issued, an invitation ticket or promotional card was almost always produced as well.

The exhibition list does not include:

PAFA's Annual Exhibitions (two series: one for oils and sculptures and one for works on paper), 1811-1969;

The Philadelphia Water Color Club members-only annuals, held 1955-1967;

Work done at the Chester Springs summer campus, 1917-1952;

Annual Student Exhibitions (in May of each year, held as early as 1902, but marketed as public exhibitions beginning ca. 1976);

The School Gallery at 1301 Cherry Street, 1988-2006; and

Gallery 128 at the Hamilton Building, begun 2005.

Selections from the permanent collection have almost always been on display. Exhibitions devoted exclusively to some part of the collection are listed here, primarily after 1940, when the subject or format warranted a special title and/or a catalog, e.g., thematic displays, works by a single artist, or new acquisitions.

Special exhibition printed matter has been microfilmed by the Archives of American Art through 1939, although the exhibitions list supersedes that on microfilm.

From 1805 to 1870, exhibitions took place in PAFA's first and second buildings on Chestnut Street between 10th and 11th Streets. The original structure burned in 1845. A new building, constructed on the surviving foundations, was used until the property was sold in 1870. PAFA suspended regular operations from 1871 to April 1876, while its new building was under construction.

Throughout most of the 19th century, during periods when the Annual Exhibitions were not occupying most of the galleries, PAFA displayed works of art, on long- or short-term deposit from private owners, alongside its own collection. Catalogs listing both loaned works and PAFA property were issued at intervals, especially between 1838 and 1856, and again from 1876 to 1881.

PAFA's third building at Broad and Cherry Streets provided a great deal more gallery space than the previous facility. The variety and frequency of special exhibitions increased as PAFA’s influence reached its peak. Numerous landmark exhibitions were mounted including those of:

the Philadelphia Photographic Salons, 1898-1901;

the English Pre-Raphaelites, 1858 and 1892;

The Eight, 1908;

Later Tendencies in Art, 1921;

the Albert C. Barnes Collection, 1923.

In about 1913, exhibitions drawn from the collection began appearing with specific titles and/or themes. These displays are included on the exhibitions list when documented by a ticket, catalog, or a mention in an annual report.

From 1940 to 1960, PAFA's exhibition schedule was dominated by its two Annual Exhibitions, and the "Philadelphia Artists' Gallery," a series of small exhibitions by contemporary local artists which ran from 1946 to 1957. Staffing and financial constraints precluded a more complex program, until the mid-1960s when major exhibitions either organized in-house, or brought in from outside, were regularly supported.

Presentations of the work of living regional artists resumed at PAFA in the School's Peale House Gallery in 1964, and an ambitious schedule of contemporary exhibitions was inaugurated in 1978 with the Morris Gallery Program, a series held in the Broad and Cherry building. (Separate lists are available for these two series.)

Another series of exhibitions was held in the Print Room (1940-47), also known as:

the Student Gallery, 1948-50

the Little Gallery, 1951-54

the History Gallery, 1976-94.

This space on the ground floor of the Historic Landmark Building (now the café) housed PAFA's extensive collection of European prints and drawings. From 1940-54, as many as ten brief, small-scale exhibitions were mounted there each year. The work was either drawn from the print collection, or related to graphic art such as magazine illustration, or produced by students and recent alumni. Virtually no printed matter was issued for these displays, and the complete title lists in each year's annual report are rarely specific. The exhibition list for these years includes only selected Print Room exhibitions.

In 2005 PAFA opened the Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building, on the northwest corner of Broad and Cherry Streets. The building provided a new home for the school and administrative offices, as well as several new galleries. The largest of these, the Fisher-Brooks Gallery, was planned as the primary venue for traveling exhibitions.

Other named galleries in the Hamilton Building are:

the Women’s Board School Gallery (surrounding the second floor Stairhall)